A down on his luck Dubliner, who was so broke he nearly had to sell his home, saw his finances come up to scratch on Friday, July 4, 2014, when he won €500,000 on a National Lottery Ireland "All Cash Extravaganza" scratchcard.
The winner claimed his prize yesterday. He has chosen to remain anonymous, but National Lottery Ireland says he bought his lucky ticket from the Applegreen service station on the M1 at Lusk in County Dublin.
Speaking to lottery representatives he said, "I'd been lucky a few weeks ago on a scratch card when I'd won €1,000, so I thought I'd try my luck again with the same one."
His luck held true and he scooped the largest prize ever to be won on a National Lottery Ireland scratchcard.
"This means so much as it really brings peace of mind for me and my family," he said. "I nearly sold our home a few months ago, and now I can pay off the mortgage and credit cards."
Recalling the day he won, the man admitted his excited state had caused him to misread his ticket.
"I took it home and showed it to my wife and she pointed out that it was €500,000, not €50,000!" he said.
When the father-of-four shared the good news with the rest of his family some members were not so easily convinced and his young daughter asked: "Are you sure that's not a dud dad?"
As for his plans for the future the lucky winner has already applied to renew his passport and his wife is busy planning a family holiday.
